The fact is, we are quite weak. As in other post-socialist countries, the anti-Stalinist left in Ukraine had to start from the ground up. But while in Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, and other countries, the new left has had certain victories since 2014, in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas have split and weakened the Left.
While early in the war the far right did not pay attention to us, conflicts began to arise again in 2024.
The 2022 invasion had a different effect — there was a reactivation, and in 2023, the student union Direct Action was even restored. But our activities are complicated by martial law and the fact that many experienced activists are serving in the army. Some have also died on the front lines, such as anarchist artist David Chichkan, anthropologist and author of the Commons journal Evheny Osievsky, and others. Russian anarchist Dmitry Petrov, who was our comrade and a Commons author, also died fighting on the Ukrainian side.
The Direct Action student union’s activities have now become more difficult also due to far-right pressure. While early in the war the far right did not pay attention to us, conflicts began to arise again in 2024. But the conditions of the confrontation have now changed. For example, in 2024, the far right tried to disrupt the presentation of a student zine in Odesa, but anarchist veterans came to the students’ defense. Last year, the leader of Russian neo-Nazis in Ukraine, Denis Kapustin, staged a provocation at David Chichkan’s funeral, but he was pinned down by anarchist soldiers.
As for the future, again, everything depends heavily on the war’s outcome. It may sound counterintuitive, but if Ukraine loses, the far right will increase its influence, and in that case, we will most likely disappear as a collective. The next generation of leftists will be forced to start from scratch. Again.
Auteur: Taras Bilous
